Here's My Two Cents

As I celebrate my 15th birthday today, May 7, I have decided to share my thoughts on subjects that I've been asked about a lot recently. These topics cover a wide range of things including my tips on how to stay focused, handle peer pressure and overcome obstacles.

Who really is Warren Cassell Jr?
I wake up every morning with a goal to inspire others. It's the reason why I do what I do. I'm a teenager who believes that it is a person's duty to live the life of their dreams and hopefully by living my life doing the things that I love -- writing, investing and doing business, despite my age -- I will inspire others to do what they love doing.

On staying focused:
I'm focused because I've defined what I want in life and what I want my legacy to be. I know what I want and I've made it clear to myself that no matter what, I'm going to achieve my goals or at least fail trying as hard as I can.

I believe that the reason so many people get distracted is because they haven't asked themselves what it is they want to achieve from life. When that question is answered and answered truthfully, becoming focused becomes natural.

On my passions:
Very early in life I gleaned from reading that it doesn't matter what your situation is, you can accomplish anything. It sounds simple but when you read the everyday rags to riches stories, you see it. It really pains me that so many people aren't living happy lives and aren't working at their highest potential.

I'm passionate about sharing this with the world -- everyone has a fighting chance to achieve greatness. I want to live in a world where everyone is doing what they love doing and I want to leave the world knowing that my efforts have helped people live more meaningful lives.

Future endeavours:
Although I love writing, my love for business is unparalleled to anything else. After school I hope to start an investment firm with a few friends so that in the next five to ten years I could manage funds for families and everyday people and give them access to where the rich get richer -- the world of investments. This will help them be financially able to achieve their own dreams.

Mantra for life:
I live by Einstein's quote, "Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value."

Source of inspirations:
Nature. Just by sitting down, clearing my mind from the distractions of the world and observing my fellow earthlings, plants and animals, I get a lot of wisdom. I get inspired when I read about philosophers like Confucius and Lao Tzu and how they influenced generations. I also read several blogs; TinyBuddha, ReLove Plan.et and Medium.com to name a few.

On entrepreneurship:
I always had this love for business. For since I was about three years old, the idea of being able to provide a service to people and solve their problem while being financially awarded from it interested me. I love the path of entrepreneurship -- challenging but very rewarding!

On facing obstacles and challenges:
When I meet a bump in my path I don't overreact. I retreat and analyze the situation and to be honest that has been the most effective way for me to deal with obstacles because it allows me to see if I've been going the wrong path or even defining an opportunity as an obstacle by mistake.

On peer pressure:
I've defined what I want to achieve from life and I've created a framework for making decisions that will help me achieve my goals. I'm not easily pressured because if a decision is not aligned with my framework, I don't do it. I'm naturally disciplined and I stick to my principles.

My advice for avoiding making wrong decisions in life is to establish what your principles are and enter into a written agreement with yourself that says you will only make decisions that are aligned with your principles. Keep this agreement accessible to you at all times and read it to yourself whenever you're pressured into doing something you're not sure about.

Advice for young people:
Anyone can achieve greatness. It doesn't matter what your background is, if you weren't born into wealth, or where you live. To be successful you need to set big goals, create a framework that will assist you in reaching those goals and stay committed to working to achieve what you want to accomplish. There's a quote that goes: When you want something, all the Universe conspires to help you achieve it.

On my greatest accomplishment:
I'm most pleased about my immutable commitment to inspire others. Especially the publishing of my two books, Swim or Drown and The Farm of Wisdom. I've shared a large number of the wisdom that helped me get this far in these books with the world.